Assessment and Evaluation of Speech-Language Disorders in Schools

Assessing, describing, and interpreting an individual's communication ability requires the integration of a variety of information gathered in the evaluation process. ASHA's Preferred Practice Patterns for the Professions of Speech-Language Pathology (2004) indicates that comprehensive speech-language pathology assessment includes these components:

Case history, including medical status, education, socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds and information from teachers and other related service providers
Patient/client/student and family interview
Review of auditory, visual, motor, and cognitive status
Standardized and/or non-standardized measures of specific aspects of speech, spoken and non-spoken language, cognitive-communication, and swallowing function, including observations and analysis of work samples
Identification of potential for effective intervention strategies and compensations
Selection of standardized measures for speech, language, cognitive-communication, and/or swallowing assessment with consideration for documented ecological validity and cultural sensitivity
Follow-up services to monitor communication and swallowing status and ensure appropriate intervention and support for individuals with identified speech, language, cognitive-communication, and/or swallowing disorders

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) offers procedures for the evaluation of students that includes but is not limited to:

use of a variety of technically sound assessment tools and strategies
assessments that are not culturally or racially discriminatory and provided in the child's native language
assessments are administered by qualified personnel

See additional IDEA requirements for evaluation and and reevaluations.

In addition to adhering to federal IDEA guidelines, SLPs must follow state and local requirements for the assessments of students.

Evaluation Versus Assessment

It is important to note the distinctions between the terms assessment and evaluation.

Evaluation is defined as the "procedures used by qualified personnel to determine a child's initial and continuing eligibility..." IDEA (2004), IDEA Part B requires that an evaluation be comprehensive and assess all areas of suspected disability. It is important for the clinician to involve other assessment staff as part of the multidisciplinary evaluation team to address educational and/or behavioral concerns for students who are not meeting the grade-level expectations (IDEA, 2004, Section 34 CFR 300.304).

Assessment is defined as "the ongoing procedures used by qualified personnel to identify the child's unique strengths and needs and the early intervention services appropriate to meet those needs throughout the period of the child's eligibility...and includes the assessment of the child...and the assessment of the child's family..." (IDEA, Part C, Section 303.321)

The purpose of assessment is to determine a student's initial or continued eligibility for special education services. IDEA states during the eligibility process data must be collected and analyzed to document whether these factors have been considered prior to determining the disability. Collecting data through a variety of approaches listed below from a multitude of sources provides a balanced picture of the child's strengths and needs.

Documentation Needed to Support Recommendations Across the Continuum of Speech-Language Services

Academic performance - Includes academic report cards and performance documentation in completing classroom assignments.

Assessment report - includes the most current and past assessment speech-language reports, that includes interpretation of results, along with the communication disorder diagnoses and severity levels of impairment.

Attendance report - Information related to the number of days the student is present in and absent from school. This also includes documentation related to student’s attendance and/or refusal to attend therapy sessions.

Classroom observation - The collection of descriptive data that is observed toon how the student performs academically and socially in the classroom setting

Parent/caregiver interview - Information provided by parents/caregivers as it relates to concerns about their child’s communication and any noted progress on communication skills within the home setting.

Progress report - Student’s progress towards meeting speech-language goals and objectives at the same interval as report cards (e.g., quarterly, every 6 weeks, etc.) 

Teacher Interview and report - Discussions with teachers who provide instruction to students to obtain qualitative and quantitative data of student performance in the classroom setting.

Therapy notes - Daily notes and data (i.e., trials, percentages, etc.) describing how the student performed in speech-language therapy sessions. 

State standardized test results - Information related to performance on state issued standardized testing conducted by the school district has for each student.

Student interview - Discussion with the students about their strengths, interests, concerns, and needed supports.

Work samples - Examples of what the student creates independently and/or with supports within the classroom and speech-language therapy settings.